(CNN)"Game of Thrones" viewers will have to wait until next year to see how the HBO drama will come to an end.
While it's been speculated the final season of the series would not air until 2019, HBO made the news official on Thursday.
"'Game of Thrones' will return for its six-episode, eighth and final season in 2019," the network announced via Twitter. "David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik will be the directors for the new season. Writers for the new season are David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill."
HBO made it known last year that the hit series would end with Season 8.
Season 7, which had only seven episodes, concluded on August 27.
HBO programming president Casey Bloys said in September that the show is taking measures avoid revealing its ending by shooting multiple variations.
(CNN and HBO share the parent company Time Warner.)
